Chris Sellers, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)
Five years after Superstorm Sandy, we see how disadvantaged social groups suffered more from the storm before and after – much as we’re seeing in Hurricanes Harvey and Maria.
It’s not just about rebuilding infrastructure after storms: Cities need to systematically rethink their knowledge systems which are at the heart of urban resilience.
This year is poised to go down as the hottest non-El Niño year ever recorded, with record low polar ice and extreme weather that left many regions battling bushfires and hurricanes.
A Puerto Rican librarian with a personal relationship to hurricanes describes the brutal reality of life on this Caribbean island more than a month after Maria and Irma left their mark.
Insurance-linked securities aim to shield insurers and governments from huge costs following disasters. But they bear eerie similarities to the securities that caused the 2008 financial meltdown.
Natural disasters are not only bad in the short term. Many families will see their health, well-being and ability to escape poverty affected for decades, and some will be affected for life.
New research by scholars, conservationists and the insurance industry shows that coastal wetlands provide hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of protection from flooding, boosting the case for protecting them.
Levi Gahman, The University of the West Indies: St. Augustine Campus et Gabrielle Thongs, The University of the West Indies: St. Augustine Campus
The Caribbean is facing its second deadly hurricane in as many weeks. This isn’t just bad luck: the region’s extreme vulnerability to disaster also reflects entrenched social inequalities.